Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Staff Reporter – SENIOR officials in Kwekwe have urged residents not to panic following a widely circulating hoax message the city has been placed under a three-week lockdown due to the detection of the deadly Indian B.1.617 Covid-19 variant in the district.
On Wednesday, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who doubles as the country’s health minister, confirmed the outbreak of the Indian Covid-19 variant in the Midlands city.
However, Kwekwe District Covid-19 taskforce co-chairperson Vitalis Kwashira also told NewZimbabwe.com the lockdown message, circulating on social media platforms, was false.
“That is a fake report which is circulating on social media. There is no lockdown in Kwekwe district. We are going about our business as usual,” he said.
Kwekwe mayor Angeline Kasipo, while urging residents not to panic, advised them not to drop their guard, but continue following Covid-19 World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
“I have spoken to the DDC (district development coordinator) and he told me it’s untrue that Kwekwe is under new lockdown restrictions. Therefore, residents must not panic,” she said.
“We want people to be careful. We don’t know if we have a third wave or the Indian variant or anything. We are awaiting the results which we sent to Kwekwe. People must, therefore, not speculate.
“There is no need to panic, but we need to take full precautions. For the past two months, we have been recording zero cases, people must continue observing WHO guidelines. We are also encouraging people to get vaccinated against Covid-19.”
Kwekwe has been on the edge following the death of residents chairperson Robson Kadenhe (76) to Covid-19 complications last week.
Kadenhe is believed to have contracted the virus from his granddaughter who had earlier travelled from India. However, Kadenhe’s granddaughter tested negative.
In February this year, there was also a social media hoax that Kwekwe Polytechnic had introduced compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations for all lecturers, support staff, and students scheduled to sit for their Higher Examination Council examinations causing panic among learners writing the exams.
